#Web Aligner Unit

[intersectionalpraxis]

Please look into Claudia De la Cruz! She's a 2024 USA presidential candidate with the Party for Socialism and Liberation and she is actively participating in pro-Palestine protests. If you like her, please help spread her name!

Thank you! For folks living in the United States, please look into Claudia De la Cruz!

Here is their main web page: https:// votesocialist 2024 [dot][com]/ (just in case it's not visible).

I have attached some screenshots here of their campaign and movement. I highly recommend looking into these folks, too, because there's a lot of powerful and empowering plans and promises here rooted in liberation/anti-capitalism/class consciousness, I'm so glad you shared this here!

Their program has an extensive list of their focuses, and for those interested in reading more, the link I provided will lead you to it. Some of their program includes:

Seize the Biggest 100 Corporations, Create A New Economy for the People

Overthrow the Dictatorship of the Rich — Build a Democracy That Serves the Working Class

End the Rule of Money and Lock Up the Corrupt Elite

Cut the Military Budget by 90% — Peace, Not War with China & Russia!

End the War on Black America!

Defend Women’s Rights, Full Equality for LGBTQ People

Save the Planet from Capitalism

If folks are interested in supporting them, they have a donation section and more you can read about. I will definitely some more time to read about them a bit more, but this is exciting. A socialist movement is something I'm 100% aligned with!

[boyfhee]

ⵌㅤWHEEL OF ℱATEㅤ ੭୧ㅤ ( 엔하이픈 )

✉️ soulmates exist— but it's a matter of chance. so goes a tale as old as time, speaking of lovers destined by fate and separated by worlds. take a chance, spin the wheel, let the stars align to bring you to your fated one.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ𝓻ules !

001 follow me, optional but appreciated ^0^

002 for genre, since this is a surprise event, click on this link and spin the wheel. it's all fluff, i promise ( with one surprise angst ) the right button is for spinning !

003 comment “ joining : genre + member / unit / ot7 ” reblog and tag at least three active accounts

004 only text fics are allowed, for a change!!! adding tweets, insta stores / posts is allowed as well. you can write for one member or the whole group, write for units— your choice, but it should be a text fic.

005 all works should be sfw with warnings stated clearly. moderately suggestive texts / undertones / jokes, is allowed but explicit nsfw isn't. please be mindful of what you're writing when it comes to riki, and jungwon too, actually.

006 add [⠀ㅤㅤㅤboyfhee ੭୧ 𝓌heel of 𝒻ate ] in first five tags and tag me

007 deadline : 30th of july, you are free to drop out anytime if you're unable to post your entry due to any circumstances. you can ask for extensions in dms

⩇⩇ : ⩇⩇ >< kisses to all those who are joining ^_^ i love text fics, i'm sure most of us do since they're a quick and fun read. also anyone can join, it really doesn't matter how big your account is— the more the merrier ! all the works will be linked in this post once posted :>

tips & resources ᐢᗜᐢ memimessage for texts and twinote for tweets. both apps are available for android and ios. the image limit on app is ten, however it's thirty on the web.

[theoutcastrogue]

A copyright lawsuit filed by several major publishers puts the future of the Internet Archive's scan-and-lend library at risk. In a recent appeal, the non-profit organization argued that its solution is protected fair use and critical to preserving digital books. This position is shared by copyright scholars, the Authors Alliance, and other supporters now backing IA in court.

The Internet Archive (IA) is a non-profit organization that aims to preserve digital history for generations to come. The digital library is a staunch supporter of a free and open Internet and began meticulously archiving the web over a quarter century ago.

In addition to archiving the web, IA also operates a library that offers a broad collection of digital media, including books. Staying true to the centuries-old library concept, IA patrons can also borrow books that are scanned and digitized in-house.

Publishers vs. Internet Archive

The self-scanning service is different from the licensing deals other libraries enter into. Not all publishers are happy with IA’s approach which triggered a massive legal battle two years ago.

Publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, John Wiley, and Penguin Random House filed a lawsuit, equating IA’s controlled digital lending (CDL) operation to copyright infringement. Earlier this year a New York Federal court concluded that the library is indeed liable for copyright infringement.

The Court’s decision effectively put an end to IA’s self-scanning library, at least for books from the publishers in suit. However, IA is not letting this go without a fight and last week the non-profit filed its opening brief at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping to reverse the judgment.

Support from Authors Alliance

IA doesn’t stand alone in this legal battle. As the week progressed, several parties submitted amicus curiae briefs to the court supporting IA’s library. This includes the Authors Alliance.

The Authors Alliance represents thousands of members, including two Nobel Laureates, a Poet Laureate of the United States, and three MacArthur Fellows. All benefit from making their work available to a broad public.

If IA’s lending operation is outlawed, the authors fear that their books would become less accessible, allowing the major publishers to increase their power and control. The Alliance argues that the federal court failed to take the position of authors into account, focusing heavily on the publishers instead. However, the interests of these groups are not always aligned.

“Many authors strongly oppose the actions of the publishers in bringing this suit because they support libraries and their ability to innovate. Authors rely on libraries to reach readers and many are proud to have their works preserved and made available through libraries in service of the public.

“Because these publishers have such concentrated market power […], authors that want to reach wide audiences rarely have the negotiating power to retain sufficient control from publishers to independently authorize public access like that at issue here,” the Alliance adds.

This critique from the authors is not new. Hundreds of writers came out in support of IA’s digital book library at an earlier stage of this lawsuit, urging the publishers to drop their case. [...]

Copyright Scholars Back IA

In a separate amicus brief, several prominent legal and copyright scholars, many of whom hold professor titles, raise similar arguments. They believe that IA’s lending system is not that different from the physical libraries that are an integral part of culture.

“Libraries have always been free under copyright law to lend materials they own as they see fit. This is a feature of copyright law, not a bug,” the brief reads.

What is new here, is that publishers now assert full control over how their digital books are treated. Instead of allowing libraries to own copies, they have to license them, which makes it impossible to add them to the permanent archive.

“The major publishers refuse to sell digital books to libraries, forcing them to settle for restrictive licenses of digital content rather than genuine ownership. Moreover, publishers insist they can prevent libraries from scanning their lawfully purchased physical books and lending the resulting digital copies.” [...]

[cupcakeslushie]

Could you elaborate on Venus being a cyborg? I want to write a scene where Donnie performs maintenance, but I’m still not really sure which parts of Vee are metal and which aren’t.

Are any of her limbs detachable? Or is it all a metallic skeleton? Do you think she deals with phantom pains if Donnie has had to amputate anything?

Venus info dump!

@nintendogirl106734-blog Main boys with cloaking broaches!

Not a ton of peaceful moments, but when Draxum would leave the two would be able to relax and spend the day by Three’s wading pool.

Venus mask is stitched on. A lot of her skin/limbs was lost thanks to a combination of spending most of her life in a vat and also her illness. Three has to constantly perform maintenance and update her cybernetics and to make sure the transplants are healthy. So far whatever was causing her body to fail has been stopped from spreading. She does deal with a lot of general daily pain, less from Three’s cybernetics, because he did such a good job on them, and more on the joined spots where Draxum replaced with “spare parts”. It does however hurt when Three has to do mechanical repairs, but it’s normally so light and moves amazingly realistic that Venus often forgets that arm isn’t real.

Venus’s shell and plastron had to be replaced. The shell is mostly metal and much more sleek than her old shell. Three made the plastron replacements look realistic since Venus asked.

@phoenixanddust

Venus will be kind of a sad character for a while, but she will be happy in the end! Donnie and Mikey are the brothers she’s closest to. Donnie spoils her to the extreme, and Mikey is of course her twin so Vee likes to drive Mikey crazy. She is technically the baby of the family, but her and Mikey together are unstoppable when their wants align. Splinter stands no chance of saying no.

Venus does have a very dry sense of humor which leads to Three sometimes not even registering them as jokes. When she gets rescued she’s very much a girly girl. She likes dresses and bows and pink.

Three’s mind doesn’t really think of anything when he’s being rescued. It’s very much a “Savage Donnie” moment where he’s there and talking, but he’s so upset that his mind has gone blank. But even then, Big Mama has kept Venus away for nearly a year, so Three thinks he’s been abandoned and Venus isn’t really on his mind…. Their reunion Cont👇

@cavern-of-shenanigans @orderedchaosthings2

Venus will see Donnie again somewhere in the middle of “season one”. It won’t be a long reunion, but enough for Donnie to realize he’s been enjoying living with his family, while Venus has been stuck being Big Mama and Draxum’s errand girl. He feels extremely guilty for basically giving up on her. He allowed his bad thoughts, and visions (yes he does see her as well) to convince him that she has abandoned him, but it turns out, all this time, it was the other way around.

Unfortunately, Donnie was the only one to see Venus, and he thinks the fam won’t believe him when he tells them about seeing her, but he’s surprised to find out that they do and they all promise Donnie they’ll rescue her.

In season 2 they run into Venus again, and Donnie is able to have a better conversation with her, but Big Mama has done such a good job spinning lies, that Venus runs off before Donnie can convince her he’s sincerely sorry about leaving her behind. This is when the family learns that Mikey and Venus are twins. Mikey feels bad that Venus seems to have fallen into Big Mama’s web, we will see him angry with Big Mama for the first time on Venus’s behalf.

At the season 2 midpoint Venus agrees to help with Draxum’s cleansing ritual.

At the s2 finale we will see her still aligned with Big Mama BUT….[spoiler] and she will disappear to get her mind together.

She will make a short appearance in the movie.

S3 will be very Venus and Jennika heavy, and it’ll all be about their integration into the family unit. Jennika has her own life in the Hidden City, but Venus will split her time with the family and [spoiler].

The boys really all treat Venus as the little, baby sister, but all to varying degrees. April, Donnie, and Raph dote on her, Leo is wayyy too overprotective and Mikey rubs being slightly older in her face all the time, but they will team up to be The Ultimate Youngest™️. Out of all the “sister group” April and Venus get along the most like sisters. April really helps Venus be girly and learn it’s okay to enjoy these things, to be more than just a mindless drone (Leo will very often help with this mindset as well, and it allows them something deeper to bond over).

[charmedreincarnation]

Time doesn’t exist you already have your desires!!

As you may have heard before, some of the greatest minds in the world have been pondering this idea for centuries. Albert Einstein famously said: “Time is an illusion.”

But what does that mean, exactly?

At a fundamental level, time is simply a construct of our own making. We make up the idea of time passing as a way to measure and make sense of our lives, but in reality, time doesn’t actually exist. So, if we accept the idea that time is an illusion, then it follows that the idea of manifesting our desires right now is not just possible but inevitable

The key to manifesting our desires is to believe that they are already available to us. We need to be able to see the possibilities that are available to us if we open our minds and hearts to them. We also need to be willing to take action that aligns with our desired outcome. We need to focus on the present moment and put in the effort and energy required to accomplish our goals. If we keep our focus on the present moment and take action, then the universe will be able to manifest our desires.

But regardless Time is a tricky concept. We often think of it in a linear fashion, believing that everything is happening at the same time, but this isn’t the case. In fact, that’s a rather simplistic view of how time works.

Let’s consider the basics of time. We measure it in seconds, minutes, hours and days. These are arbitrary measurements, based on the rotation of the Earth and other celestial bodies. The sun rises and sets, creating what we call a day. This is our natural unit of time, but we break it down further in order to keep track of our activities.

If we take a closer look, time is really just our perception of change. Change is all around us, and time allows us to measure it. We may feel like time is fleeting or moving quickly, but in reality time is a constant. One second is always one second, no matter how fast or slow we perceive it to be.

Time can be viewed as an illusion. We can’t experience everything at once, so we experience moments sequentially. This is why we have multiple clocks - digital, analog and other types - because they help us measure the differences between points in time.

That said, there are numerous theories that attempt to explain the concept of time. Some people believe that time is cyclical, meaning that everything happens in a repeating pattern. Others believe that it’s an illusion created by our perception of events. And then there are those who believe in a multidimensional view of time, with each individual moment connected to the others in an infinite web.

Regardless of which theory you subscribe to, the bottom line is this - time is relative. We see it differently depending on our own experiences and understanding of the world. Our perception of time may be skewed and unreliable, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist - it just means that we have to use our brains to make sense of it.

How does this apply to manifesting

Have you ever been waiting impatiently for something only to have it suddenly appear or manifest in your life? This could be in the form of a job, a relationship, or any other desired situation or object. You may have been waiting for weeks or months only to have it come to you in an instant.

This is because time isn’t actually an absolute reality; it’s just our perception of reality. The truth is that everything is happening in the present moment. There’s no past or future, only the now. This means that whatever you’re looking for is already here – you just haven’t seen it yet.

So how do we access our desires? The answer lies in shifting our consciousness into the present moment. Instead of thinking of our desires as something that we need to create or manifest, we can instead bring our awareness to the here and now. Accepting what’s happening in the present moment gives us access to what we want right away.

This doesn’t mean that the goal of manifesting our desires isn’t important, it just means that trying to force things into existence isn’t necessary. Instead, by being mindful of the present moment and releasing any attachment or expectations about what will happen, you create a space for your desires to organically manifest themselves in your life. This includes shifitng

In the vast sea of scientific theories, multiverse theory stands out as a fascinating hypothesis. It proposes the existence of multiple universes in addition to our own. While the concept of parallel universes has been around for centuries, the current scientific understanding of multiverse theory is fairly new.

The basis of multiverse theory in congruency to time is the idea that time is not linear. Instead, it’s a fluid concept that can move backward and forward, and bend and change at will. This means that time isn’t just a line, but multiple branches and pathways that lead to different outcomes.

It’s easy to see how this could explain the concept of multiple universes. Depending on the choices we make and roads we take, we could end up moving from one universe to another. The variations in time could explain why we live in one universe and not another.

But why does this matter?

Well, for starters, multiverse theory has implications for two major scientific fields: quantum physics and cosmology. By better understanding the concept of multiple universes, scientists can unlock more secrets about the universe, from uncovering its history to ultimately understanding the future.

Multiverse theory also gives us a better understanding of how each of our choices could shape our future. It proposes that for every choice we make, a new future path is created, giving us an almost infinite number of new possibilities. This is what we know as shifting and manifesting in the simplest terms

It’s an incredible concept, and one that continues to have researchers fascinated. By studying multiverse theory, scientists can gain a greater understanding of our universe and its place within the multiverse. It’s an immense topic of study with limitless possibilities

The reality is that our lives are happening all at once, take a moment and think about it – have you ever had a déjà vu experience? That feeling of familiarity where you feel like you’ve already been somewhere or experienced a certain event. It’s because you already have.

It is this non-linear notion of time that allows us to manifest our desires. Your desires already exist in the present moment, but your limited awareness of the present moment makes them appear to be in the future. When we focus our awareness on the present moment, we can begin to access and experience the manifestation of our desires even though they appear to be in a future reality. Manifesting works because we live in a limitless universe that supports us and has our best interest at heart. So if we can accept that time doesn’t exist and that our desires are already ours, we can begin to manifest our dreams and create the life that we desire instantly.

[dateless-bar]

The Great Crusade Café | Concept Design

You can just watch the video which has a detailed description as well as the tour. I used Chinese dubbing with English subtitles, so make sure you have the subtitles turned on while watching.

CAFÉ FOR ASTARTES! | Fan Idle Game: The Great Crusade Café Concept Design

The Great Crusade Café

Productivity Tool& Idle Game Fanart Project (Concept Design Only)

Concept design: Gameplay

[Intro & Setting]

When a user first opens the web page, the name The Great Crusade Café will appear. After clicking, you can start by naming the café owner, which is the role you will play.

Then, as the owner, you will be asked to choose the tasks you want to undertake in reality for today. The default name here is John.

The purpose of this web page is to provide users with a leisurely and comfortable café white noise. It allows you to enjoy such an atmosphere whether you are reading or translating WH novels. Additionally, café-themed white noise has been proven by studies to increase efficiency for people. Therefore, you can also use it while working or painting miniature models.

After setting a task, you can officially enter the management of the café within the game. Don't worry, you can change the current task being undertaken at any time, just below the time displayed in the top right corner. And if you feel that the display of time might make you anxious, you can also turn it off in the settings.

[Coffee System]

After today's business starts, you can choose to make a cup of coffee for yourself first. By clicking on the coffee cup under the coffee machine, you can make a cup of your favorite drink for yourself.

Recaff is precisely the coffee beverage commonly found in the "Siege of Terra" series of novels. And various other drinks also have their unique origins.

After deciding which type of coffee to make, we can choose options like the milk to use based on our personal preference.

This will result in a steaming hot cup of coffee.

After each cup of coffee is made, hovering the mouse over the coffee cup icon will start a 2-hour timer. However, after one hour, the steam on the coffee cup will disappear. And when the timer finally reaches zero, you will know that two hours have passed. Setting a 2-hour timer aligns with the time unit of the Pomodoro Technique. If you want to use the web page as an efficiency tool, you can make good use of this feature.

[Character Visiting]

After making a cup of coffee for yourself, naturally, various characters will be attracted to the café and its aroma. They usually greet you directly and place their orders. But sometimes, you will need to guess their preferences based on the characters' personalities. If you have read many related novels, you will have a unique advantage in this aspect.

For example, people from Caliban would drink black tea. Commanders stationed on Terra, on the other hand, prefer bitter coffee, among other things. Additionally, some special drink recipes need to be purchased or unlocked through gifts from characters.

After fulfilling the characters' needs, their Trust will increase.

Subsequently, they often spend some time in the café, and during this period, you can engage in conversation with them. As the Trust increases, the topics they bring up will also vary.

For instance, Loken might talk to you about Mr. Sindermann's lectures, while Argel Tal could bring up his friend Khârn. Ahriman might mention that the café was recommended to him by his human friend Gaumon.

This often unlocks more characters. After all, the café's reputation is always spread by word of mouth among friends.

And some rarer characters, I mean, like a Primarch, might require the trust of everyone in the legion.

After increasing trust levels, besides more conversations and characters, there will also be an important matter.

Once trust levels reach their peak, characters will give you a variety of gifts, including decorative items. For example, members of the Thousand Sons always like to give you various books, regardless of whether you can understand them or not.

But you can use some of them as decorations inside the café.

This can sometimes be key to unlocking rare characters. Of course, you can also purchase various decorations and drink recipes at any time from the itinerant merchant in the upper left corner of the screen.

And if you complete the current task setting and change the task, most of the characters present will express encouragement and approval towards you.

[Bulletin Board & Character Book]

Each character stays for a different amount of time. Many of them are very busy with numerous affairs. However, you can find clues of their visits on the bulletin board.

Almost every customer who has visited the café leaves something behind on this bulletin board. For example, stickers, messages, or even advertisements.

Hovering the mouse over specific items will display detailed explanations and descriptions.

You can also find information about the visitors in the customer notes, where all guest information is recorded.

However, characters that have not yet been unlocked will be displayed as "unsigned".

[Weather System]

Additionally, some sufficiently important characters, if they are very satisfied with your café, they will grant you access rights.

This privilege allows you to open cafés in different areas, such as on battleships, Terra, the Hive cities, and various other places.

As time passes, the ambient light in the café will also change.

This also means that some special characters will only be unlocked at specific times. If you go from noon to night, you can see the nighttime view of the Hive city outside the window. As time progresses from afternoon to night, you can see the nighttime view of the Hive city from the window. And when midnight arrives, the starry sea above the deck will leave you in awe. In the central area of Terra, mornings always face the unchanging snowy mountains.

[Vinyl Records Player]

While running the café, you can always spin your vinyl records. This allows you to change the background music and even import your own favorite tracks. If you don't like the ambient chatter or the sounds of the coffee machine and cups, you can also turn them off here.

The above is a brief instruction for using "The Great Crusade Café".

The project is a purely conceptual design. As Games Workshop does not allow fanart creators to engage in programming or development. It is currently only presented in this form to everyone. It's worth mentioning that this design was inspired by a series of excellent projects, including VA-11 Hall-A, Coffee Talk, I Miss My Cafe, and Neko Atsume, etc. That's also why I chose to use a pixel art style in the project.

At the same time, I'd like to thank the pixel art artists who collaborated with me. Without you, this demo video wouldn't have been possible.

Finally, thank you for watching. If you enjoy research and artistic creations related to the Warhammer theme, feel free to follow my Youtube channel and X.

May your day always start with a great cup of coffee : )

[minecraftbookshelf]

Evo SMP/Life Series Relationship Web

This does dip a bit into Empires and Hermitcraft but I tried to not focus on that.

The types of relationship portrayed, color coded for my sanity

Parent & Sibling are pretty self explanatory

Soulmate - Double Life Soulmate. Allows for both Assigned Soulmates and Chosen Soulmates and does not indicate the exact flavor of the soulmate relationship at all.

Partner - Primarily indicates some level of romantic relationship but also allows for Canon Typical Ambiguity

Platonic Partners - Partnerships that are enough aligned as platonic that I felt comfortable assigning them here. There’s only like. Two of these.

It’s Complicated - Aka “fuck if I know” aka “???” Boils down to “there is Something Wrong with these people and I don’t know that it can be labeled with any fewer than three categories, some of which are mutually exclusive” Covers a wide range of actual relationship flavors but I ran out of colors and so couldn't get any more specific than this.

Haphazard Breakdown of Some of the Actual Relationships Below the Cut

Grian and Solidarity and Pearlescentmoon are all half-siblings (and that is the age order)

Solidarity & LDShadowlady are step-siblings

Can Flower Husbands Please Chill Out With the Relationships Please

A couple relationships got more than one line color:

Desert Duo are both Assigned Soulmates and also What The Fuck??? Because look at them.

Smajor and ZombieCleo are both Chosen Soulmates and also Platonic Partners on account of having what I'm pretty sure is the only positive relationship to survive all four Life Games without a single backstabbing or betrayal and all the murder being 100% consensual.

Smajor and InTheLittleWood get both Partners and What the Fuck??? because i stared at them for a solid five minutes trying to decide.

BigBSt4tz2 & Pearlescentmoon ended up on opposite sides of the web somehow but pls know that they have a What the Fuck??? line connecting them, I just really didn't want to draw that over the whole thing.

Similarly, Impulse and Bdubs are on different sides (Impulse as part of "Tango's Polycule") pls imagine their soulmate line as well.

"Smajor's Harem of Husbands" consists of (as of Smajor's list after MCC30) HBomb, Whisp, FireBreathMan, and Milo (NPC from Witchcraft SMP) Solidarity gets to be individually listed because he’s one of the integral parts of the web at large

I am absolutely open to conversation on any and all of these points and any others.

EDIT 5/9/23: I made a streamlined version that is also more thorough.

I started with the Evo Squad as a group for this one. Instead of the Evo Sibling Squad. All Evo SMP members are also now underlined in Orange

I removed some extraneous characters, down to one Empire Character, and Three Hermitcraft (plus the Harem Unit)

This took about six attempts so I apologize for the handwriting decline.

[lephamquynhnhu]

Panacea

Chapter 1: Pretty ripples on water

Dan Feng x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS/ TAGS: The reader has a default name, OOC. (This is a work of fanfiction, events are not aligned or relevant to the original work)

Word count: ~1,1k

Summary: He met you on a drizzling day when hydrangea fully bloomed on its field. Amidst the sea of mild pastel petals, Dan Feng never thought the flowery domain that intertwined your fate was the precise thing withered with you. They said he was a dragon, a hero, a sinner, but never a person with love, hatred, sorrow, or joy like everyone else in this world. However, it was a demi-truth. He committed the cardinal sin because of you.

Note: Do you like...pain?

The soothing melody of raindrops falling through the thick foliage barely touches his hair as Dan Feng strides on the worn path underneath. The Ten-Lords commissioned him to investigate the supernatural phenomena in the Faery Forest, which inhabitants rumor it recently haunted. The golden sun conceals itself behind the aloft gloomy clouds draping an eerily grey ambiance, and the voidness of birds singing wafts a scary serenity.

There are plenty of stories and myths about the woods, but the infamous one was a wise Nymph who guarded the forest as the Alliance established. When the first Denizen of Abundance occurred, to preserve her homeland from the crossfire of the war, the Nymph divided herself into divine fragments asunder to enhance the endurance of the woods. Thanks to the Nymph's might, her forest remained intact after devastating battles. However, she could not regain her strength to unite divinity, so the wise Nymph gradually faded, her name eventually fell into oblivion, and the story is no more than a mythopedia. It is said that her Authorities dissolved in the forest to protect her beloved homeland forever. The native Loufu named the woods based on that story, and whatever the stories are, this forest has sustained through many sanguinary warfare and become one of the most venerated destinations.

The report says that citizens who live near the haunted place or some passing by currently hear a bizarre resonance in the Faery forest at dawn, and they even claim to witness jack-o'-lantern at twilight. To verify the statement, Dan Feng's presence from the blush of morn strolling around an hour and finds nothing akin to the rumor. The drizzle is getting heavier as raindrops start seeping through his attire. Looking at the overcast sky through a dense web of leaves, he forecasts it will soon be a downpour. When Dan Feng considers postponing the commission, a weak sound threads through ancient arbors, which beat like a song - a nursery rhyme. Simultaneously, a chilly breeze permeates with moisture rises as though pushing him toward the siren as soon as the resonance appears. The glint of surprise quickly quenches when Imbibitor Lunae decides to follow the sound's origin.

He keeps running with all senses on guards under the last remnants of light dimly lit his way until a field of flowers welcomes him when exiting the forest. Dan Feng never thought there would be people living beyond the woods and isolating themselves from society. Reflecting in those cyan irises is a girl standing amidst the hydrangea fully bloomed on its field, who raises her voice while one hand holds a cart of multi-colored flowers and the other curls around the axis of her umbrella. Suddenly, when detecting a foreigner's existence, you stop singing and tilt your head toward his position. To your right, an emotionless man with a prominent horned crown atop his forehead whom you know precisely. The drizzle turns into rain as water continuously trails down the High Elder's porcelain face.

"Your Majesty, it may become torrential rain. Would you like to shelter at my house?" - You kindheartedly open an invitation while sauntering to Dan Feng and sharing your umbrella. A weary inquiry escapes Imbibitor Lunae's lips as he notices you use the title in greeting, but Dan Feng only receives a mysterious smile.

Outside the limited space, raindrops seem progressively heavier when they drum on the umbrella panel, and the surroundings are covered in a misty veil. The calm demeanor in the Long Scion's eyes never wavers, and you can tell he sights right through your soul, searching for something. A familiar feeling creeps up his mind, yet somehow different. "Yes, please lead the way." - Dan Feng eventually accepts your invitation after a brief moment as he gently takes the shalt from your gloved hand.

After avoiding the rain at your house, all suspicions were clear, and he assumed to close the case because the enigmatic echo was your singing voice, and the fen-fire originated from your paper lantern. When Dan Feng mentioned those phenomena, an astonishment tinged your face yet soon morphed into grinning. "My sincere apologies, Your Majesty. But, you may conclude your commission now." - You breathlessly said while trying to regain your formal posture.

The crispy sound of embers crackling mingles with thunderbolts from afar, which craft an inexplicably refreshing atmosphere. Compared to the natural noise outside, Dan Feng thinks your voice seems to dissolve into the ether. Although those emerald orbs never leave the white wall made from endless heavy raindrops, his attention still focuses on your conversation. Besides, the High Elder learned you are a florist who has settled here about three years. "I succeeded in my grandmother's business after looking after her ailment.'' - Your tone is monotonous, but a distant feeling boiling up while leisurely replenishing his teacup. Dan Feng keeps practicing a good listener's role and slowly sips the tea. The smoky steam flowing at the brim that carries a floral scent of Wildrose thread through his nostrils reduces mind stress.

Unknowingly, your one-way dialogue at the wooden terrace goes smoothly under the chilly downpour of early summer. When the homemade delicacy marries with the beverage is out of stock, and the tea is drying up in the pot, the shower stops falling, which renders a landscape as spectacular as pictured. At first, Dan Feng thought your lifestyle was a little too austere as if the only living being at a monastery and sealing away the community. Nevertheless, he comprehends the reason as the sunlight shines brightly again. The previous rain aqua absolutes all reveal a Shangri-La with a boundless field of vivid flowers. Boasting butterflies start levitating around the garden while a rainbow faintly appears on the horizon.

Imbibitor Lunae intended to carry his commission, but now, this Elysium might cast a spell to change his mind, to return once again. Furthermore, the treat you offered also brings up his appetite, so Dan Feng wants to taste them once again.

"Do you wish to grow any plant's breed?" - The High Elder says as he stands up from the wooden chair, fetching his cloak with eyes still fixed on the flowery domain unfold. You tilt your head quizzically because it is uncommon for him to open the conversation, unable to respond immediately. "I want to compensate you for your kindhearted hospitality." - He quickly clarifies your inquiry as if possessing mind-reading arts. This time, Dan Feng initiates eye contact with you; a gentle wind blows through, causing dispersed petals to swirl around. His lashes lightly move in approval when he hears your answer. Empirical Peony sure will gorgeously bloom under your care. Before leaving, Dan Feng abruptly halts his foot as he realizes he has forgotten something essential.

"What is your name?" You look at his tall back while snickering behind your palm to suppress the giggles. A cozy orange hue from the blazing flame that nestles in your fireplace shimmers on your face as you answer "Yi Ting. Yi in ripples on water, Ting in pretty."

[dailybugle-blr]

"Team Red" Takes to the Streets: Daredevil, Deadpool, and Spider-Man Unite

by Clara Haynes, reporter

Photo submitted by Peter Parker

NEW YORK CITY - In a city teeming with crime and chaos, a new trio of masked crusaders has emerged, striking fear into the hearts of criminals and drawing both admiration and skepticism from the public. This unlikely alliance, dubbed "Team Red," consists of Daredevil, Deadpool and Spider-Man – three enigmatic figures with their own unique styles of crime-fighting. But as they join forces to combat the forces of evil, questions arise: are they the heroes New York needs, or are they merely another band of vigilantes running amok in our streets?

Daredevil, or Devil of Hell's Kitchen, has long been a symbol of justice, using his heightened senses and martial arts prowess to defend the innocent and uphold the law. His relentless pursuit of justice has earned him both praise and condemnation, but his commitment to his cause remains unwavering.

Deadpool, or Merc with a Mouth, brings his own brand of chaotic energy to the team. Armed with an arsenal of weapons and a quick wit, Deadpool's unorthodox methods often leave a trail of destruction in his wake. While some see him as a reckless wildcard, others admire his willingness to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

And then there's Spider-Man, the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler. With his incredible agility, web-slinging abilities and sense of responsibility, Spider-Man has become a beloved figure in the city, swinging into action whenever danger strikes. But his association with Team Red raises eyebrows among some, who question whether he's aligning himself with the right crowd.

"Team Red may have good intentions, but their methods leave much to be desired," said Captain George Stacy of the NYPD. "We can't have masked vigilantes running around unchecked, putting themselves and others at risk. It's a recipe for disaster."

Despite the controversy surrounding them, Team Red continues to operate in the shadows, taking on the criminal underworld with gusto and determination. Whether they will be hailed as heroes or condemned as vigilantes remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: with Team Red on the streets, New York City will never be the same.

[irhabiya]

i'm not gonna pretend at all to be as educated as i would like to be about swana geopolitics, but pan arabism is such a weird ideology i can't for the life of me figure out my opinion on. cause i can definitely see the value of swana countries presenting a united front against western imperialism (something we very much are Not Fucking Doing and it's driving me insane), but the way so many ppl talk about it is very much giving white liberal vibes. like "just forget the shit my country has done and is currently doing to yours so we don't have to confront our own issues, thx <3" which is like..... buddy i hate to break it to you, that's not how solidarity works. i don't get why there's such a huge proportion of arabs that spout all this shit about unity but are incapable of recognizing the role their countries played in it. it's behavior i've gotten used to from white moderates in america when we talk about shit like reparations and abolition, so i'm just baffled to be seeing the same arguments play out here. is there an arab-equivalent to white fragility?

idfk, i'm rambling here. i'm arab myself but i only recently started trying to make sense of the web of swana politics and i feel like that scene from community where donald glover walks into a room to find the whole place on fire. which let's be real, i expected, but i'm still confused as shit.

well imo that's the thing, any version of pan-arabism that existed for national liberation or anti western imperialism in the middle east died decades ago. whole arab states act as arms of western imperialism in the region now

and even then it's not unreasonable to scrutinize it back when you could make an argument that it was anti-imperialist. in egypt copts, siwi amazigh, nubians and jews have been marginalized on the basis that they're not arab. coptic was banned and neglected in favor of arabic. it's very silly to act like people aren't marginalized by how "arab" they are, i say this as a muslim non-black egyptian who will always be racialized as part of the arab majority in the country. others who are marginalized can speak on this from experience why better than i can.

pan-arabists rn from what i see are not serious anti-imperialists, it really seems to me that they use that "we're all just brothers and sisters please no infighting" to comfort themselves and deflect whenever anyone brings up their country's shitty foreign policies and alignment with western imperialism

[warningsine]

As world leaders scramble to avert a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, there is another conflict on a scale perhaps unimaginable to many they should rush to prevent as well.

It is a repeat, like Israel-Hezbollah in 2006, of a war that raged between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda between August 1998 and July 2003. By the time it ended, nine African countries and 20 rebel groups were involved. At least 5.4 million people died as a result of fighting, disease and malnutrition and 7 million were displaced. Africa’s World War — or the Great War of Africa, as it came to be known — was the world’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

Today, conflict between Congolese and Rwandan leaders has sharpened dangerously, peace initiatives have collapsed, an arms race is underway and deadly clashes between both sides and militias aligned to them are frequent. All the warning lights for a repeat of the 1998-2003 war are flashing.

Tensions have been simmering for years, with frequent reports of serious cross-border clashes in the eastern provinces of Congo. War talk and violence ramped up in the run-up to the Congolese election in December and have intensified over the past seven months. Weeks before the poll, Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi said Rwandan President Paul Kagame was behaving like Adolf Hitler and had ambitions to expand Rwanda into eastern Congo.

"I promise he will end up like Hitler,” Tshisekedi warned. Rwanda said the Congolese president’s words were a "loud and clear threat."

On July 9, a United Nations expert report confirmed widely circulated accusations that Uganda and Rwanda are backing the powerful M23 rebel group in eastern Congo. The report warned that the crisis "carried the risk of triggering a wider regional conflict." Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo responded that Tshisekedi had "consistently threatened to declare war on Rwanda" and that her country "will continue to defend itself."

The reasons for the fighting are decades-old and complex, yet currently boil down to various players’ bid to dominate Congo’s abundant mineral resources.

After the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which 1 million ethnic Tutsi were killed by mainly Hutu ethnic groups, militias implicated in the murders fled into eastern Congo. The Rwandan army pursued them, arguing that it had to arrest perpetrators of the genocide and destroy their networks. This happened again in 1998, triggering the great war and spawning a web of vested interests involving neighboring nations and armed militias, mercenaries, mining companies, local and regional politicians, China, the United States and other global powers seeking a toehold in the region. Large parts of Congo have since been occupied by ruthless armed groups profiting from illegal mining.

The country produces nearly 70% of the world’s cobalt, while the Great Lakes region that Congo is a part of is rich with tin, tantalum, tungsten, lithium and gold — all of which are key components of electric vehicle batteries, cell phones, refrigerators, jewelry, airplane parts, cars and other goods. As of 2020, Chinese firms owned or had stakes in 15 of the 19 cobalt producing mines in Congo. Between 2022 and 2050, demand for nickel will double, cobalt will triple and lithium rise tenfold, according to the International Energy Agency.

A conflagration will potentially affect or draw in other countries. Apart from Congo, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, a plethora of armed groups is already in the region. The 11,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission (which goes by the French acronym MONUSCO) was supposed to leave the country by year-end, but has been asked by the Congolese government to stay on indefinitely.

South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania already have troops in Congo as part of the Southern African Development Community’s peacekeeping mission deployed there last December. Congo’s neighbors Angola, the Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia could be pulled into the fighting. An East African Community Regional Force exited Congo in December and may be drawn back in.

That’s not all. The Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect, a nongovernmental organization, says that there are at least 120 armed militias operating in the region, while mercenaries such as those of Russia’s Wagner Group have been contracted by various players. And worryingly, Congo has been stocking up on arms. The country’s military spending experienced the highest increase in the world last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Spending on armored vehicles, drones and other military equipment more than doubled in a year to $794 million.

The 1998-2003 conflict ended because strong continental leaders intervened through dialogue. In 2000, African leaders adopted the Lome Declaration that expressly outlawed coups, thus giving the African Union the authority to stand up to belligerents.

The current political climate, called "an epidemic” of coups by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, makes it harder to intervene. Continental leadership of the type of the early 2000s is also lacking. In its last meeting on July 12, the African Union — its authority already undermined by swaggering coup leaders in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and other nations experiencing democratic backsliding — failed to even place the Great Lakes crisis on its agenda.

Attempts to strike a new peace deal have floundered. On July 27, Tshisekedi told a meeting in Paris: "There are two processes. There was the Nairobi Process driven by Uhuru Kenyatta which, unfortunately, was subsequently managed by the new president William Ruto. He managed it very badly. The process is almost dead."

The second initiative, the Luanda Process led by Angolan President Joao Lourenco, has made little headway after a disastrous meeting in February.

What now? At the request of the U.S., the belligerents have been observing a humanitarian truce for nearly a month, but clashes have continued. This truce should be used by international leaders — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admirably been heavily involved with Lourenco — to encourage Tshisekedi and Kagame to dial down the rhetoric and come to the table.

China, which has sold arms to both sides this year and is the dominant foreign economic player in Congo’s mining sector, should do the same. Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates (both of which have mining interests in Congo) should also be acting. Crucially, other regional leaders such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya should be taking a leadership role alongside Angola’s president to avert a deterioration and assert Africa’s interests.

With 7.2 million people in the region already displaced by the war — 700,000 of them in just the first three months of this year — a further escalation would spell disaster for the continent.

[itchyeye]

What kind of phone do you think elias has? Latest iPhone? Recent Samsung? Google pixel with a great camera? One of those economical chinese brands? An early iPhone he's made last a decade?

What features do you think are important to elias regarding phones? (Storage, camera, ect)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO this is such a fun question 🖤

i think elias has multiple phones tbh. so in his office he has a corded multiline phone. this is the same unit that everyone in the institute has. they're slate office gray and they're old. but they work reliably!! tim keeps referring to them being from the 80s but they are from the early 00s at the very earliest. office tech just looks outdated as soon as it's manufactured. they work well. you can only dial out from elias and rosie's lines, the rest are strictly internal.

then i think he has a pretty outdated iphone that he uses for work, which is billed to the institute's plan. this is a benefit offered to management level staff and higher. phones are not for personal use and therefore come with very limited features and very little data. (the institute has wifi everywhere except the archives, which use ethernet)

and finally for personal use i do think he has a Pixel, actually!! i had a Pixel 2 once and it was my favorite phone i've ever owned except it bricked after 1 week. then i got a refurbished one and was angry that i was making monthly payments for a brand new fresh out of the box phone but using a refurbished one. then in exactly one more week the refurbished one also bricked. out of absolutely nowhere. THIS IS A VERY WEB ALIGNED THING TO HAVE HAPPENED IMVHO. but anyway yes i think because of the incredible screen resolution and the amazing camera, he does have the newest pixel. that's the one that has the very nice leather case on it. peter got it for him and elias told him how nice it would be holding something so fine while his husband doesn't call him.

i think elias is tech savy and very with the times and i think data security and modern surveilance doesn't bother him at all so he keeps the shit that needs to be secret secret as HELL and then uses the cloud for everything else. because data insecurity not bothering him was an understatement it obviously turns him on.

[wolf-knights]

Someone New

Pairing: Derek Morgan x m!reader (ftm)

A/N: the wait is over! I have finally found the motivation to write this fic again so yeah, I hope this is good and you all enjoy it...

mentions: strong language(?), drinking, gay pining(?), mentions of smut(in the first chapter who am I), mentions of pedophilia and the normal CM stuff. DO NOT READ IF UNCOMFORTABLE. FEM ALIGNED AND AGELESS BLOGS DONT INTERACT. if theres any warning i left out please let me know.

-> 18+only, do not repost, copy or translate my works nor post them anywhere else. Minors and ageless blogs do not interact with my blog or my fics. Reblogs, likes and comments are appreciated.

You were woken up by the obnoxiously loud ring tone of your phone, you groan and grab it and with out looking who was calling you pick it up "hello it's y/n" a female voice breaks through "y/n hi, it's Katie" you sit up and rub your eyes "hi Katie, is everything okay?" you ask "uhh you remember Peter?" "the boy we were looking for last year." you ask back "yes he is back, I have called for agent hotchner at the BAU and I want you there aswell." she tells you and you respond with "I'll be there in 30" you reply "get the files too" Katie tells you and cuts the call. You sit in your bed for a bit before getting up and ready. You get the files and your car keys, you head to the BAU.

As you walk in where katie and the rest of the team is you see them already talking about the case and annonce "We narrowed the location down to the eastern United States." you interrupt and all of them turn to look at you "agent l/n everyone, I asked for his help previously on this case, I asked for it again." katie introduces you and everyone does the same "hello, it's nice to meet you again katie." you say and hand her the files before she countinues "as I was saying, we had some suspects in, but the trail went cold." she says "until today." "with all due respect, miss cole. How is this time going to be any different?" agent morgan says "we have a starting point." she replies as you look through the new files "the location where the image was first discovered?" agent hotchner asks "a chat room, hosted by an independent web company in Cleveland, Ohio." Katie explains "And this time I'm bringing all you with me" she says

As you all arrive at Cleveland, Katie, you, and the agents decide to pay a visit to the chat room vendor. As you all entre the office agent morgan says "FBI. We have a warrant to search these premises. Stop doing what you are doing right now." and all of you show your badges, while you look around "Can somebody tell me who owns this place?" Morgan asks and someone clears their throat "that'd be me." the owner says while standing "I want access to your chat room databases." Katie says

After awhile of trying to look through the database, agent gideon gets a call from jj saying that they have found another child being held somewhere. All of you get in the car with the fbi vests, when you all arrive at the house you all run to the house with your guns pulled out.

After awhile of trying to look through the database, agent gideon gets a call from jj saying that they have found another child being held somewhere. All of you get in the car with the fbi vests, when you all arrive at the house you all run to the house with your guns pulled out.

Turns out the boy, Kevin was just filming himself trying to make a little money but he had the file of Peter's video. You sigh as you all walk downstairs while removing your vests, you walk infront of derek and lean against the railing of the stairs "the father's been in jail for the last 8 months. In that time, Kevin's been selling the only thing he's got, which is himself." agent hotchner informs all of you "just like a street hustler." derek adds "only now the street is the internet." Katie says "and his client base spans the globe." you add "this kid definitely uploaded Peter's video to the chat room, because it's still on his computer." agent morgan says "yeah, but not the live feed." agent hotchner "he say how he got hold of the video?" agent gideon says "he said it came from one of his clients. It was a shared file. They'd gone around these chat groups" agent hotchner replies "it's possible. Buyers and sellers routine. They trade files because the act in itself is an illegal act, which proves they are not police." Katie says "let's go see what else we can find out." As Katie tries to get the passwords to work, Derek walks over to the kid "kid, the boy whose video you've been sending around to all the chat rooms, he's gonna be sold from one pedophile to another." Derek tells Kevin as he just sits there "boo...hoo" Kevin says as it doesn't bother him as all of you sigh "these are dummy logs." Katie says as she looks at the boy "You can't get to your father, but you can get to the guy who's hurting this boy" agent Agent hotchner says as all of you look at Kevin hoping that he might understand.

After getting through to Kevin and getting him to agree to do the face to face with Mehtevas, getting to Hayden had been the easy part you would say. As Kevin walks away, Hayden or Mehtevas tries to follow him, the car pulls up as agent Morgan gets out of the car and aggressively handles Hayden before Katie and you try to calm/stop him "agent morgan" you call out "I didn't do anything" Hayden said nervously as Katie runs up up to them "Agent Morgan, take it easy. Take it easy" she advised

Turns out he was a principle of a school. As you take him to his office where agent Greenaway and Dr. Reid were searching through his office, he tried to argue about not doing anything. Standing outside of his office Katie pulls out a photo of Peter "how can someone hurt something so..." "pure" agent Gideon completes his sentence "you sent this image to Kevin" you say "well that was wrong of me, I know but i-i was so shocked" you tried not to roll your eyes "I wanted to try and save the poor boy, I thought Hugz uh-Kevin might know him that's why sent him the link to the website, see if he knew" agent morgan starts to walk towards Mr. Rawlings "Please. You were trying to save him?" before Mr. Rawling could say anything agent Gideon insisted derek to go help the other two search the office. As you all enter the office and agent gideon asked Mr. Rawlings to sit as Agent Morgan and Greenaway with Dr. Reid try to find a way into his computer soon finding the password.

You all walk where the other three were with Mr. Rawlings as Derek moves a chair towards the table agent Greenaway was sitting at before mentioning for him to sit, Mr. Rawling was getting angrier and nervous as the time went by, Derek gets a call from Garcia. Mr. Rawling tries to defend himself by saying that everything on his computer was for research for a book "No, it's not research, it's a 100 year in federal penitentiary" after that he quickly admitted to things.

As you get into the site with the code, they arrest Mr. Rawling but soon the sites goes down as the unsub figures out that you all were on to him. Taking the lead Garcia had given derek after looking at Peter's tadpole shirt, you all drive up to mount pleasant with two hours on the clock. Agent Jareau had bought some time by broadcasting a fake news into thr media which got the live feed up. You head to the church from where you find out that Peter's actual name is Charlie.

"the name the school has is Charlie Springs" agent hotchner says as he walks up to the rest of the team "no sparks in any of the phone directories" agent gideon added to what agent hotchner said "then we start over again" Katie says looking at you "we don't have alot of time left" you say before Dr.Reid interrupts the conversation which made you all figure out that you and Katie might have interviewed the unsub and he would be in the records as soon as agent gideon proposed the idea Derek's watch indicate that you all had ran out of time but Katie doesn't give up she rings up Amanda trying to find out who the unsub is by pulling out the original files on Peter's case and to get the name of everyone who you both had interviewed back then with the help of Garcia. Through which you figure out two of the 10 people that were interviewed lived within 10 minutes of where you guys were derek tells you all "a Patrick Forest and a Michael Earlson"

"Patrick Forest isn't smart enough to pull this all together" Katie says as she paces around "but Michael Earlson is" you added.

Getting to his house before something happened was the crucial part. As he pulled out of his drive way as the FBI cars pull up. Michael tries to make a run for it but Derek gets a hold of him and arrests him. As you and Katie look in the car for Charlie, you look through the front as Katie looks in the trunk, you see what Katie found making your way towards her to see Charlie alive...

{timeskip to later that night}

That night you had gone home thinking you were just going to drink, have dinner and read but turns out as you got comfortable on the couch reading the book, you hear a knock on your door which made you let out a small groan before getting up and putting on your robe to go open the door to see derek standing there and he hears the music and the atmosphere of your apartment "hi Derek. What are you doing here?" you asked confused, he smirks but their was something in that smirk you couldn't quite put your finger on "seems like you might have a company over" to which you laugh and shake your head "wish I could but no I was just enjoying a bath" you say as you invite him in before turning on the lights "well you look nice with your hair down like that" Derek says which makes you blush a little a reaction you weren't expecting from yourself "um thank you, you don't look to bad yourself with that leather jacket" you try to not stutter, he laughs a little "thanks but that reminds me you left your jacket on my desk in the BAU" you let out a small sigh "that's where it was" you take it from him and thank him "um d-do you want to stay for a drink" you ask and look at him and he agrees "sure why not pretty face" it makes you let a small laugh like huff as you go to get the drinks after asking him to sit on the couch

You come back with the drinks and hand him one and sit on the couch with him, your drink in your hand as you ask him "so...tell me about yourself, handsome" the moment those words leave your mouth, you shake your head "I'm never saying that again" you laugh as Derek shakes his head with a laugh as the conversation starts flowing easily between the two of you.

As the time passed by, neither of you realized the time or how many glasses of wine you both had consumed. The alcohol that fogged your brains consuming every thought you had, walking to your bedroom as your lips collided. With the warm yet rough hands resting on your waist whilst your's grip his shirt...

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Tagging:

@csb87

@hi5321

@stealing-kneecaps

I hope you all enjoy it and I hope you all are having a great day/night ❤️

[mariacallous]

The shocking Hamas assault on Israel has precipitated a beginning and an end for the Middle East. What has begun, almost inexorably, is the next war—one that will be bloody, costly, and agonizingly unpredictable in its course and outcome. What has ended, for anyone who cares to admit it, is the illusion that the United States can extricate itself from a region that has dominated the American national security agenda for the past half century.

One can hardly blame the Biden administration for trying to do just that. Twenty years of fighting terrorists, along with failed nation building in Afghanistan and Iraq, took a terrible toll on American society and politics and drained the U.S. budget. Having inherited the messy fallout from the Trump administration’s erratic approach to the region, President Joe Biden recognized that U.S. entanglements in the Middle East distracted from more urgent challenges posed by the rising great power of China and the recalcitrant fading power of Russia.

The White House devised a creative exit strategy, attempting to broker a new balance of power in the Middle East that would allow Washington to downsize its presence and attention while also ensuring that Beijing did not fill the void. A historic bid to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia promised to formally align Washington’s two most important regional partners against their common foe, Iran, and anchor the Saudis beyond the perimeter of China’s strategic orbit.

In tandem with this effort, the administration also sought to ease tensions with Iran, the most dangerous adversary the United States faces in the Middle East. Having tried and failed to resuscitate the 2015 nuclear deal with its elaborate web of restrictions and oversight of Iran’s nuclear program, Washington embraced a Plan B of payoffs and informal understandings. The hope was that, in exchange for modest economic rewards, Tehran could be persuaded to slow down its work on its nuclear programs and step back from its provocations around the region. Stage one came in September, with a deal that freed five unjustly detained Americans from Iranian prisons and gave Tehran access to $6 billion in previously frozen oil revenues. Both sides were poised for follow-on talks in Oman, with the wheels of diplomacy greased by record-level Iranian oil exports, made possible by Washington’s averting its gaze instead of enforcing its own sanctions.

As ambitious policy gambits go, this one had a lot to recommend it—in particular, the genuine confluence of interests among Israeli and Saudi leaders that has already generated tangible momentum toward more public-facing bilateral cooperation on security and economic matters. Had it succeeded, a new alignment among two of the region’s major players might have had a truly transformative impact on the security and economic environment in the broader Middle East.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Unfortunately, that promise may have been its undoing. Biden’s attempt at a quick getaway from the Middle East had one fatal flaw: it wildly misperceived the incentives for Iran, the most disruptive actor on the stage. It was never plausible that informal understandings and a dribble of sanctions relief would be sufficient to pacify the Islamic Republic and its proxies, who have a keen and time-tested appreciation for the utility of escalation in advancing their strategic and economic interests. Iranian leaders had every incentive to try to block an Israeli-Saudi breakthrough, particularly one that would have extended American security guarantees to Riyadh and allowed the Saudis to develop a civilian nuclear energy program.

At this time, it is not known whether Iran had any specific role in the carnage in Israel. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Tehran was directly involved in planning the assault, citing unnamed senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group. That report has not been confirmed by Israeli or U.S. officials, who have only gone so far as to suggest that Iran was “broadly complicit,” in the words of Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser. At the very least, the operation “bore hallmarks of Iranian support,” as a report in The Washington Post put it, citing former and current senior Israeli and U.S. officials. And even if the Islamic Republic did not pull the trigger, its hands are hardly clean. Iran has funded, trained, and equipped Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups and has coordinated closely on strategy, as well as operations—especially during the past decade. It is inconceivable that Hamas undertook an attack of this magnitude and complexity without some foreknowledge and affirmative support from Iran’s leadership. And now Iranian officials and media are exulting in the brutality unleashed on Israeli civilians and embracing the expectation that the Hamas offensive will bring about Israel’s demise.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR TEHRAN?

At first glance, Iran’s posture might appear paradoxical. After all, with the Biden administration proffering economic incentives for cooperation, it might seem unwise for Iran to incite an eruption between the Israelis and the Palestinians that will no doubt scuttle any possibility of a thaw between Washington and Tehran. Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, however, the Islamic Republic has used escalation as a policy tool of choice. When the regime is under pressure, the revolutionary playbook calls for a counterattack to unnerve its adversaries and achieve a tactical advantage. And the war in Gaza advances the long-cherished goal of the Islamic Republic’s leadership to cripple its most formidable regional foe. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has never wavered in his feverish antagonism toward Israel and the United States. He and those around him are profoundly convinced of American immorality, greed, and wickedness; they revile Israel and clamor for its destruction, as part of the ultimate triumph of the Islamic world over what they see as a declining West and an illegitimate “Zionist entity.”

In addition, in the Biden administration’s entreaties and conciliation, Tehran smelled weakness—Washington’s desperation to shed its 9/11-era baggage, even if the price was high. Domestic turmoil in both the United States and Israel likely also whet the appetites of Iranian leaders, who have long been convinced that the West was decaying from within. For this reason, Tehran has been committing more strongly to its relationships with China and Russia. Those links are primarily driven by opportunism and a shared resentment of Washington. But for Iran, there is a domestic political element as well: as more moderate segments of the Iranian elite have been pushed to the sidelines, the regime’s economic and diplomatic orientation has shifted to the East, as its power brokers no longer see the West as a preferable or even a viable source of economic and diplomatic opportunities. Closer bonds among China, Iran, and Russia have encouraged a more aggressive Iranian posture, since a crisis in the Middle East that distracts Washington and European capitals will produce some strategic and economic benefits for Moscow and Beijing.

Finally, the prospect of a public Israeli-Saudi entente surely provided an additional accelerant to Iran, as it would have shifted the regional balance firmly back in Washington’s favor. In a speech he delivered just days before the Hamas attack, Khamenei warned that “the firm view of the Islamic Republic is that the governments that are gambling on normalizing relations with the Zionist regime will suffer losses. Defeat awaits them. They are making a mistake.”

WHERE DOES IT GO FROM HERE?

As the Israeli ground campaign in Gaza gets underway, it is highly unlikely that the conflict will stay there; the only question is the scope and speed of the war’s expansion. For now, the Israelis are focused on the immediate threat and are disinclined to widen the conflict. But the choice may not be theirs. Hezbollah, Iran’s most important ally, has already taken part in an exchange of fire on Israel’s northern border, in which at least four of the group’s fighters died. For Hezbollah, the temptation to follow the shock of Hamas’s success by opening a second front will be high. But Hezbollah’s leaders have acknowledged that they failed to anticipate the heavy toll of their 2006 war with Israel, which left the group intact but also severely eroded its capabilities. They may be more circumspect this time around. Tehran also has an interest in keeping Hezbollah whole, as insurance against a potential future Israeli strike on the Iranian nuclear program.

For now, therefore, although the threat of a wider war remains real, that outcome is hardly inevitable. The Iranian government has made an art of avoiding direct conflict with Israel, and it suits Tehran’s purposes, as well as those of its regional proxies and patrons in Moscow, to light the fire but stand back from the flames. Some in Israel may advocate for hitting Iranian targets, if only to send a signal, but the country’s security forces have their hands full now, and senior officials seem determined to stay focused on the fight at hand. Most likely, as the conflict evolves, Israel will at some point hit Iranian assets in Syria, but not in Iran itself. To date, Tehran has absorbed such strikes in Syria without feeling the need to retaliate directly.

As oil markets react to the return of a Middle East risk premium, Tehran may be tempted to resume its attacks and harassment of shipping vessels in the Persian Gulf. U.S. General C. Q. Brown, the newly confirmed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was right to warn Tehran to stay on the sidelines and “not to get involved.” But his choice of words unfortunately suggests a failure to appreciate that the Iranians are already deeply, inextricably involved.

For the Biden administration, it is long past time to shed the mindset that shaped prior diplomacy toward Iran: a conviction that the Islamic Republic could be persuaded to accept pragmatic compromises that served its country’s interests. Once upon a time, that may have been credible. But the Iranian regime has reverted to its foundational premise: a determination to upend the regional order by any means necessary. Washington should dispense with the illusions of a truce with Iran’s theocratic oligarchs.

On every other geopolitical challenge, Biden’s position has evolved considerably from the Obama-era approach. Only U.S. policy toward Iran remains mired in the outdated assumptions of a decade ago. In the current environment, American diplomatic engagement with Iranian officials in Gulf capitals will not produce durable restraint on Tehran’s part. Washington needs to deploy the same tough-minded realism toward Iran that has informed recent U.S. policy on Russia and China: building coalitions of the willing to ratchet up pressure and cripple Iran’s transnational terror network; reinstating meaningful enforcement of U.S. sanctions on the Iranian economy; and conveying clearly—through diplomacy, force posture, and actions to preempt or respond to Iranian provocations—that the United States is prepared to deter Iran’s regional aggression and nuclear advances. The Middle East has a way of forcing itself to the top of every president’s agenda; in the aftermath of this devastating attack, the White House must rise to the challenge.

[talonabraxas]

Gemini Full Moon Gemini full moon has a special meaning for those people who are in rapport with Spiritual Hierarchy. They come together at the full moon hours and unite on the subtle plane with the Masters of Wisdom through contemplation. In silence they receive the plan for the year as a seed thought and work on it in the following months, without much talking about it, because too much speaking leads to a loss of alignment. Gemini full moon is also called the full moon of humanity. It is now headed by Master Djwhal Khul, as it had been in earlier times by Lord Maitreya or the Christ and as many traditionally still believe out of an imprisonment of thought. Master Djwhal Khul transmits the ancient wisdom through different languages and brings it into a network of groups in order to keep it available for people in all parts of the planet. Recollecting the presence of the Great Ones at this full moon will enables us to better realize the energy of Gemini, because they are the helping guides. https://worldteachertrust.org/en/web/basics/gemini?fbclid=IwAR35IKvguKXHRUGgNSBEXN7--QQZytHpPjWpGB-UKpsI_YUWjkH2UAmc_X4

[usafphantom2]

Raytheon guarantees request for prototype of new electronic war system

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 12/22/2023 - 16:00 in Military

The United States Navy granted Raytheon an $80 million contract in a selection to create an Advanced Electronic Warfare prototype, or ADVEW, for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

This prototype will be considered as a replacement for the existing integrated defensive electronic countermeasure AN/ALQ-214 and the AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar alert receiver with a consolidated solution that will provide superior electronic warfare capabilities to the backbone of the embedded aerial wing of North American aircraft carriers.

"These advances are paving the way for the next generation of electronic warfare," said Bryan Rosselli, president of Products and Advanced Solutions at Raytheon. "We are completely replacing and consolidating legacy systems into a single solution that will provide a generational upgrade to electronic warfare capability throughout the life of the Super Hornet."

Raytheon's Advanced Electronic Warfare offering will provide significant performance upgrades, modernizing existing electronic warfare systems in fewer components and incorporating a government-defined open architecture. The development of this new solution will align and integrate with other combat-proven radio frequency sensors and effectors, used by the Super Hornet. The ADVEW solution will ensure that F/A-18E/F maintain their operational advantage in electronic warfare, while significantly improving the ability to survive against advanced and complex threats.

The development and testing of ADVEW will take place mainly in Goleta, California. During the prototype phase, the system will undergo a preliminary design review, a critical design review and flight tests over a period of 36 months.

Tags: Military AviationEW - ELECTRONIC WARF/A-18E/F Super HornetRaytheonUSN - United States Navy/U.S. Navy

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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